1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lens unit and an imaging apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to a lens unit having a movable section and an imaging apparatus including such a lens unit, which allows a reduction of size and an improvement in operation reliability of the movable section.
2. Description of the Related Art
A lens unit, which is constructed by disposing an imaging optical system such as a movable lens in a lens barrel, is included in various types of imaging apparatuses, such as a video camera and a still camera, as well as a mobile phone, etc. An example of such an imaging apparatus is one that is equipped with a movable section having a movable lens for zooming or focusing, in which the movable section can be moved by a linear actuator in the optical axis direction (for example, see Japanese Patent 3387173 and Japanese Patent Application Publication H08-015593).
In such an imaging apparatus, the movable section is supported by a pair of guide shafts, to be movable in the optical axis direction. The movable section is guided by the pair of guide shafts and moved in the optical axis direction by way of the drive power of the linear actuator.